Toot Toot Sonic Warrior!
by Immortheus
Summary: Taking place after the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2, this tale brings together elements from various Sonic elements, and adds some stuff of its own.
1. Chapter 1

Greetings, folks! Before you begin your reading, there are two things you should know. First, even though this fic takes place after Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Death Egg hasn't been built, and Sonic has never been Super Sonic. That's all. Read away!

**Chapter 1**

West Island was a nice place to live. There was plenty of vegetation and food, friendly folks all around, and the island itself was pretty huge, leaving lots of room for homes. It was indeed one of the nicer places on the planet Mobius. Not much usually happened.

Usually.

Today was a day where something WAS happening. In the grassy fields of the island's Emerald Hill Zone, various inhabitants of the zone, such as squirrels and rabbits, were fleeing as a blue blur sped past them, a small red car following it. On the front of the car was a large drill, and driving the car was a strange, egg-shaped man in black pants and a red shirt with yellow stripes. The man was completely bald, but had a large, thick red mustache covering much of his face, and small glasses were perched over his eyes.

"Get back here, hedgehog!" shouted the man. "I demand that you hand over those emeralds IMMEDIATELY!"

The blur slowed down as the man talked, revealing it to be a blue hedgehog wearing white gloves, as well as red shoes with white stripes and buckles on them.

"Not gonna happen, Robotnik!" replied the hedgehog, grinning. He then put a hand to his chin while still running, as if thinking about something. "Although maybe if you ask REALLY nicely..."

"BAH!" scoffed Robotnik. "I've had enough of your games, Sonic! I'll just have to hope to that the drill doesn't damage the emeralds!"

Robotnik's car suddenly sped up; the drill on the front of it just inches away from Sonic.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Sonic while speeding up as well, putting some distance between himself and the drill. "You gotta be more careful, Doc! You could wind up hurting someone!"

"That IS the point..." snorted Robotnik.

"But anyway, Doc," said Sonic while wiping some imaginary dirt off his fingers. "This is getting kinda boring, and I don't think the people around here like you almost running over them, soooooooo..."

Sonic suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned towards Robotnik and his car. Before the drill could even come in contact with Sonic, he rolled up into a ball, and shot himself towards Robotnik's car.

"Wha—" started Robotnik just as Sonic shot through two of the car's  
wheels, completely smashing them. "NO!"

The car started to skid all over, Robotnik struggling to keep it in control. Finally, it crashed into a large rock near the scene, smashing the drill, as well as most of the car itself.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS INDIGNITY, HEDGEHOG!" yelled Robotnik as he floated up from the car in a gray egg-like pod. "PAY!"

"Yeah, yeah," said Sonic while skidding to a stop near the wrecked car. "Whatever you say, Robuttnik."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" shouted Robotnik.

"Oh, I'm sorry... Eggman!" snickered Sonic.

"ARRRRRRGH!" screamed Robotnik even louder.  
Robotnik's "Eggmobile" then flew off into the sky, Sonic waving at him.

"Bye, Eggman!" shouted Sonic to Robotnik. "Don't forget to write!"  
Several rabbits, chickens, and other denizens of the zone rushed all around Sonic, pushing and shoving each other as they tried to talk to him.

"Oh, Mister Sonic!" said a squirrel girl. "I'd just like to thank you for saving our—"

"Sonic, how's about making out an autograph to your biggest fan?" asked a chicken, shoving the squirrel out of the way.

"I was here first, beak-brain!" shouted the squirrel.

"Nuh-uh!" argued the chicken. "I was!"

"You're both wrong!" said a chicken from behind the two. "I was!"

"Heh-heh... now, folks!" smirked Sonic. "There's plenty of this hero to go around!"

"HEY, SONIC!" shouted a voice from above Sonic and the various Mobians. All of them looked up to see an orange fox, wearing white and red shoes. However, the strangest thing about this fox was that he had two tails, which were both spinning around much like a propeller. Presumably, this was what was allowing him to fly.

"Hey, Tails!" shouted Sonic up to the fox. "A little late to the party, aren't you?"

"Sorry about taking so long, Sonic!" said Tails, slowly flying down towards Sonic and the other Mobians. "I was working on upgrading the Tornado and—"

Tails' tails suddenly stopped spinning around, and he dropped towards Sonic and the crowd of Mobians.

"AAAAAAAH!" he screamed as the Mobians in the crowd scattered in different directions, not wanting to be crushed. Tails then landed on the ground beside Sonic, who stared at him with a partially angry look, while tapping his foot on the ground.

"Tails, I thought you had the hang of flying?" asked Sonic. "You did tell me you've have them since you were born..."

"Heh-heh..." laughed Tails nervously. "I still have a 'glitch' every once in a while..."

---

That evening, still in the Emerald Hill Zone, Sonic ran up to a large, wooden building. A few moments later, Tails flew down near him, panting.

"Come on, Tails!" grinned Sonic. "You're going to have to be a lot faster than that if you ever want to beat me in a race!"

"Yeah, I know..." wheezed Tails. "But couldn't you slow down a little, Sonic?"

"Kid, I WAS going slow." replied Sonic before opening the door to the building and walking inside, Tails following. Inside, the two ended up in a large room, with the ceiling and floor were also completely metallic. Wrenches, screwdrivers, and other tools were scattered on the floor, and several tables were also all around, with pieces of machines also scattered on them. In a corner of the room was a bunk bed, with the top bed's blankets blue, and the bottom's orange.

"Sheesh, Tails, you've really gotta clean up in here!" complained Sonic as he kicked a screwdriver away from his foot.

"Sorry, Sonic, I didn't really have much time to clean up when I heard about Robotnik being in the zone again." replied Tails, stepping over a hammer. "So... uh... what was he after?"

"What else?" asked Sonic. "The Chaos Emeralds. Looks like he's running out of ideas for machines, too. He used that 'Drill-Car' of his from the last time we fought him in the Emerald Hill Zone!"

"Wow, he must be going senile!" laughed Tails. "But by the way, Sonic, you haven't told me. How exactly do you KNOW Robotnik?"

"... Meh, not much to it." said Sonic. "I lived on South Island, the original home of the Chaos Emeralds. Robotnik and his Badnik army came knocking one day, and started tearing the island apart in their search for the emeralds. I managed to beat them back, and gathered up all of the emeralds while I was at it."

"That was when the emeralds flew over here to West Island, right?" asked Tails.

"Right." replied Sonic. "Robotnik followed them here, and I followed him here. And the rest is history; I met you, and we beat old Robuttnik and got the Chaos Emeralds!"

"Yeah, that was a nice and happy ending!" grinned Tails. "Well, except for Robotnik's bases here on West Island still being operational..."

"Ah, don't worry, Tails!" said Sonic cheerfully. "The Chemical Plant and Oil Ocean Zones, as well as Metropolis, may still be up and running, but they won't be for long! We'll take down the Chemical Plant Zone first thing tomorrow, agreed?"

"... Agreed!" said Tails, nodding his head.

"Now then," yawned Sonic. "I think it's time for this day to be over. So get to bed, kid."

"All right, Sonic!" exclaimed Tails while walking over to the bunk bed and going into the orange bed. "But answer me one last question. What did you do with the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Trade secret, kid," said Sonic while getting into the blue bed. "Now get some sleep."

---

As the night went on, sleep was the only thing Tails COULDN'T do. He had too much on his mind. He and his hero were planning to take down one of Dr. Robotnik's bases the very next day. He could hardly wait! It seemed like so long ago when Tails had just been boring old Miles Prower, the kid mechanic that people would get to fix their toaster or something. Now he was a hero alongside Sonic the Hedgehog! Nothing could ruin his mood. Nothing at all.

Thunk.

"What was that?" thought Tails as he sat up in his bed. "It came from outside..."

There weren't any windows in Tails' workshop, unfortunately, so he couldn't just peek through one to find out what was going on outside. And judging from Sonic's snoring, Tails figured that he hadn't heard it.

"I know!" thought Tails. "I'll go outside and investigate what that was! Maybe it's some new Super Badnik of Robotnik's? I can beat it, and show Sonic just how good of a fighter I am!"

Tails quietly got out of his bed, and made his way to the door, making sure not to step on any of the tools on the floor. He started to open the door, and it made a creak. Tails quickly turned back towards Sonic, but to his relief, his hero hadn't seemed to wake up. Tails then stepped outside, carefully closing the workshop's door as quietly as he could.

"Hello?" asked Tails while looking around, only to see nothing but grass and trees. "Super Badnik? I'm here to fight you!"  
Tails continued to look around, only to still see nothing. He started to turn back towards the work shop... only to see three figures in front of him.

"Wha--?" started Tails, peering at the figures. Even thought it was pretty dark, he could make out that the figures were all wearing the same uniforms. Black suits covering their entire bodies, and what appeared to be gas masks covering their faces. Strapped to each of their backs were rifles, and the initials "G.U.N." were written on their shoulders.

"They're... humans?" Tails asked himself, staring in bewilderment at the strange men.

"Blast it!" exclaimed one of the men. "It's one of those... things that the Commander warned us about!"

"We can't let it jeopardize the mission!" complained the second man. "We don't want the other creatures on this island knowing that we're here!"

"Don't worry..." said the third man as he pulled the rifle strapped to his back and aimed it carefully at Tails, "This freak won't be telling anyone..."

As Tails stared in confusion, the man pulled the trigger...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As soon as the man pulled the rifle's trigger, and a bullet shot out, a blue blur suddenly dashed out of the workshop, sped up to Tails, grabbed him, and ran out of the bullet's path as it went through the workshop door.

"What the devil...?" questioned the man who had fired the bullet, looking around for the blur along with the other two men. Just then, Sonic dashes up to the man with the rifle.

"Hi!" said Sonic happily, "I'm Sonic!"

Sonic held out his right hand as if to shake the man's... but then promptly swung it into the air, uppercutting the man in the jaw. As the man yelled out and grasped his jaw in pain, the other two men pulled out pistols and aimed them at Sonic.

"STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE, FREAK!" shouted one of the men, slowly approaching Sonic.

"No can do, guys!" replied Sonic in a rather polite tone before running up to the two men. The two, startled, could do nothing as Sonic slammed their heads together, causing both to collapse.

"Oh, and the name's not 'freak'." remarked Sonic to the two groaning men, "Did you not hear me introduce myself as Sonic, or what?"

As Sonic stood over the two men, the third, behind Sonic, slowly aimed his rifle at the back of Sonic's head. Before he could pull the trigger, however, Tails swooped down at him, punching him in the head.

"That's for almost shooting me!" yelled Tails as the man also collapsed himself.

"Thanks for that, Tails." complimented Sonic, turning around towards Tails and the unconscious man. "But I could have handled him myself."

"I'm... uh... sure you could have, Sonic." replied Tails, looking some what unsure.

"And speaking of 'handling things'," said Sonic, getting a more serious expression and crossing his arms. "What did you think you were doing coming out here without me, kid? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"Sorry, Sonic..." muttered Tails, looking down at the ground. "I just wanted to prove that I could handle by myself without you!"

"... All right, I get where you're coming from," responded Sonic, uncrossing his arms. "Of course, no one could ever be as good as me, but I still get where you're coming from! Just next time, wake me up first, 'kay?"

"Speaking of which, how did you know I was in trouble?" asked Tails, a puzzled look on his face.

"Woke up when you closed the door." explained Sonic. "So I peeked through a crack, saw that guy aiming his gun at you, and sped out to save the day!"

"Ah, I get ya!" said Tails as Sonic looked around himself and Tails.

"And speaking of those guys..." commented Sonic while looking around, "Looks like they went up and left while we were talking! How rude!"

Tails looked around in surprise, and indeed saw the strange men nowhere in sight.

"But how did...?!" started Tails.

"Who cares?" interrupted Sonic. "They're gone. That's all that's important. Now how's about we get back inside and rest up for that Chemical Plant attack tomorrow, 'kay?"

"... All right." stated Tails with an unsure look. Sonic then walked back into the workshop, Tails following.

---

As mentioned earlier, West Island is one of the most peaceful places on Mobius. However, that did not mean it didn't have its downsides. Metropolis represented all of these.

The city was built by Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and while it may have seemed harmless enough with the seemingly ordinary skyscrapers that made up the majority of the city, that was hardly the case. Factories filled the city, sending pollution into the air as Robotnik's Badniks and other machines were built inside of them. The Badniks themselves patrolled the city, programmed to capture any intruders that wandered in, and bring them to the doctor's Badnik factories to be used as living batteries for other Badniks if possible. In the middle of this nightmarish city, stood Robotnik's citadel, the tallest skyscraper in the city, and the top of it was designed to resemble Robotnik's own visage. Robotnik's personal office was on the top floor, and Robotnik himself was currently pacing back and forth in it, stomping on the floor with each step he took.

"Once again, that rodent has stopped me from gaining the Chaos Emeralds!" complained Robotnik. "How does he do it?! It's mind-boggling!"Near Robotnik was a large, metal desk with a small computer on it. In front of the computer was a gray robot with a white, dome-shaped head. It had bright, red eyes and several red squares lined up in place of its mouth, possibly designed to look like teeth. Its hands were also red, and in place of legs, it only had the bottom half of a dome. This robot was SA-55, Dr. Robotnik's personal assistant.

"Yes, it is truly puzzling." stated SA-55 unenthusiastically while looking at some data on the computer's screen.

"Three times now, that hedgehog has gotten in my way!" continued Robotnik. "Yes, the third time was a bit smaller of a scheme than the other two, but that's beside the point!"

"It was a scheme?" asked SA-55. "And here I thought it was you mindlessly driving through the Emerald Hill Zone while shouting "give me the Chaos Emeralds" over and over in an obnoxious manner. My mistake."Robotnik stopped pacing and briefly glared at the robot, but then went back to pacing.

"If Project: D. E. is to reach fruition, I must get those emeralds at all costs!" ranted Robotnik. "They are the only things that can power my ultimate weapon! With it, no one—not Sonic, not any other Mobian, and certainly not any of my fellow humans in the United Federation—will be able to stop me!"

"Whatever you say." blankly stated SA-55 while blankly looking at more data on the computer screen.

"And then, once all of my enemies have been defeated, I can finally begin my conquering of Mobius! It shall be truly glorious! A whole empire of my own creation, taking over the planet's nations!"

"Excellent idea."

"Everyone on this world shall know the name of Ivo Robotnik! The Robotnik family's name shall be mocked no longer! And I will sit here in my citadel, bringing joy and happiness to my subjects!"

"Mm-hmm."

Robotnik then stopped pacing, and glared at SA-55 once more.

"You're not even paying attention anymore, are you?" he asked.

"Congratulations, Doctor, that's a new record on how fast it's taken you to figure that out!" replied SA-55. "You must be so proud of yourself."Robotnik's eyes both twitched violently, and he stretched his arms out towards SA-55's neck.

"If you're going to strangle me, Doctor, that won't work." stated SA-55 calmly. "I'm a robot, remember?"

"... ARGH!" shouted Robotnik. Just then, the computer on the desk started to beep.

"Eh?" questioned Robotnik, lowering his arms and sitting down at the desk. On the computer's screen was a map of an area labelled "Chemical Plant Zone", with two red dots outside of it.

"It appears that we have intruders at the Chemical Plant Zone, Doctor." observed SA-55.

"It appears that we do indeed." grinned Robotnik as he put a hand to his chin. "It's most likely Sonic and that bratty sidekick of his. Well, it's suppose it's time that I put that fellow I captured not too long ago to good use!"

Robotnik punched in a few buttons on the computer, and a message came up on the screen saying "SUBJECT 043 RELEASED".

"There we go!" smirked Robotnik, leaning back in his chair. "I do hope that Sonic and the fox enjoy... 'conversing' with my dear friend..."

---

"Well, Tails, here we are!" said Sonic, looking up at the large, metallic door in front of him. "The Chemical Plant Zone!"

The plant was much like one of Metropolis' factories, only much bigger. It was a huge facility, with smokestacks all over the roof. Haze filled the air, and the sun could hardly be seen. A lake was right beside the plant, although it wasn't full of water, but instead a strange, pink liquid.

"Eugh... Mega Mack." commented Tails while observing the liquid with a disgusted look. He was also holding a large, white bag over his shoulder.

"Remember to stay away like last time, little buddy." warned Sonic. "That stuff can poison you if you stay for too long in it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." sighed Tails while setting down the white bag. "So you remember the plan, right, Sonic?"

"Yup!" grinned Sonic. "We use these bombs of yours to blow this place sky high!"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Smiled Tails while opening the bag, revealing five bombs inside. "All we have to do is dash all over the plant and put these bombs in the plant's key locations, and that'll be it!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Sonic, walking closer to the door. However, he then turned Tails. "Look, Tails... are you sure you want to do this? You almost got killed last night..."

"Nah, I'm okay, Sonic!" reassured Tails. "What happened wasn't too bad!""Well, if you say so..." sighed Sonic. He then slowly opened the door, and stepped into the plant, followed by Tails carrying the bag.

"All right, Badniks, you better not get in my—" started Sonic before stopping himself. "Uh... what?"

Sonic and Tails both looked around in confusion at the large room they were in. There were glass tubes of Mega Mack running through the ceiling, walls, and even the floor, as well as large, glass containers spread throughout the room with Mega Mack inside of them. But strangely enough, there were no Badniks.

"This is weird..." mumbled Tails. "Where are all of the Badniks?"

"I don't know, kid..." scowled Sonic. "But this definitely screams 'trap'. Be careful."

Tails nodded, and slowly followed Sonic through the room. The two reached a door at the end of the room, and cautiously walked through it. They found themselves in a room identical to the first, with still no Badniks in sight.

"This is so strange!" exclaimed Tails. "Did Robotnik abandon this place, or what?!"

"As I said before, bud, there's probably some sort of trap." replied Sonic. "Maybe a giant hammer will try to crush us or something."

As Sonic and Tails continued through the room, Tails noticed a puddle of Mega Mack by the room's entrance, but said nothing of it and turned away. However, when Tails looked back at the puddle, it was now right behind him.

"GAH!" shouted Tails. "SONIC!"

"Yeah?" asked Sonic while turning towards Tails and the puddle.

"Th-that puddle!" stuttered Tails while pointing at the puddle of Mega Mack. "It moved behind me!"

"... Tails, are you sure YOU'RE okay?" asked Sonic while peering at the puddle. "It's just an ordinary puddle of Mega Mack. You're probably seeing thin-"

Just then, a fist made out of Mega Mack suddenly sprang out of the puddle, smashing into Sonic and sending him flying into a nearby wall.

"SONIC!" shouted Tails.

"He... shouldn't have... been so blind..." gurgled a voice from the puddle of Mega Mack. Tails turned towards it, and watched in horror as it morphed into a humanoid body. Two long arms stretched out from it, and a head also popped out, with a large mouth and two small, green eyes on it.

"Who-WHAT are you?!" asked Tails, backing away from the repulsive creature.

"I am... WAS a resident of a city far, far away here..." answered the creature. "Ivo Robotnik captured me along with some others... tried seeing what kind of effects his 'Mega Mack' would have on us. I was the only survivor of his experiments... if you call THIS surviving! My body is ruined, and so is my mind! I can't even remember my own name!"

"Oh, cry me a river!" shouted Sonic before spin-dashing towards the creature. "That was a cheap shot, but now—"

However, as soon as Sonic collided into the creature, he went right through it, landing on the ground behind it.

"Huh?!" exclaimed Sonic in surprise. "But... how?!"

"My body is made out of liquid, hedgehog." explained the creature. "Sure, I can turn my body solid, but with just as thought, I can make myself about as punchable as water!"

"Okay, so I'll just have to hit HARDER!" exclaimed Sonic before spin-dashing into the creature again. However, as before, he just went right through it.

"This is going to be... tough..." said Sonic, suddenly trailing off and grasping his head in pain.

"Sonic, what's wrong?!" asked Tails, running over to him.

"I don't feel... so good..." groaned Sonic, still grasping his head.

"No wonder!" exclaimed Tails while looking over Sonic, and finding Mega Mack on him. "You got Mega Mack all over yourself from coming in contact with that... thing so many times! There aresome mega toxins in that stuff!"

"Mega toxins... 'Megatox'..." mumbled the creature aloud. "I like it! Thanks for the name, kid!"

"You're getting your new name from THAT?" coughed Sonic. "Gee, you're not too creative, are you?"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Megatox before extending his arm towards Sonic and Tails. "I have no identity anymore! Megatox is as good as anything!"Quickly, Tails grabbed Sonic and flew into the air, narrowly dodging Megatox's fist, which collided into the floor.

"But why are you attacking us?!" yelled Tails. "We haven't done anything to you!"

"I don't care!" hissed Megatox. "You're entering my home! That's as good a reason as any!"

Megatox shot his arm up into the air at Tails, who barely flew out of the way and landed back on the floor with Sonic.

"Are you feeling better, Sonic?" asked Tails while watching Megatox, who just glared at the duo.

"I think so..." muttered Sonic while standing back up. "But as awesome as I am, I don't think me doing better is going to do us any good. This guy's impossible to hurt! Unless..."

Sonic looked over at the nearby bag of bombs, and grinned.

"I have an idea, Tails!" exclaimed Sonic. "But you're going to have to distract old Megatox or whatever his name is. Think you can do that?"

"No problem!" said Tails, putting a thumb up. He then flew up into the air, and stuck his tongue out at Megatox.

"HEY, MEGATOX!" he shouted. "You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, let alone me!"

"You're going to regret those words, brat!" snarled Megatox before stretching his arm out towards Tails, who dodged it again. At the same time, Sonic ran over to the bag of bombs and pulled out one. It was orange and sphere-shaped, with a small button on one side of it.

"I hope this works..." thought Sonic as he pulled the bomb back, aiming at Megatox. At the same time, Megatox's hand finally slammed into Tails, and threw him against a wall. Tails struggled to get free as Megatox held on tightly.

"Now, punk..." started Megatox, "Let's see how long you can hold up against Mega Mack's poison. Five minutes, maybe? Or how about three? Or perhaps--"

"HEY, MEGATOX!" shouted Sonic as Megatox quickly turned towards him, "HERE'S A BOMB-RELATED PUN, COMING RIGHT AT YA!"Sonic then pressed the button on the bomb, and tossed it right into the arm Megatox was using to hold Tails. Megatox dropped Tails, then stared at the bomb in confusion as it beeped rapidly.

"... Oh, darn i-" started Megatox just before the bomb started to beep rapidly, and then exploded. The Mega Mack that made up Megatox's body was sent flying all over the room, Sonic trying not to get hit by any. He then ran over to Tails, and helped him up.

"You okay, bud?" he asked.

"Yeah..." coughed Tails. "I'll be fine..."

"Not for long!" echoed Megatox's voice throughout the room. Sonic and Tails both looked around in confusion, and then noticed the puddles of Mega Mack all over the room slowly moving towards each other.

"Ah, sheesh...!" groaned Sonic. "I was hoping this guy would just give up! Hold on tight, Tails!"

Sonic picked up Tails, and then dashed over to the bag of bombs and picked it up as well. He then quickly ran through the door as the puddles of Mega Mack came back together to form Megatox, who slid after the two. Almost immediately, Sonic ended up back outside the plant, and pulled another bomb out of the bag.

"Let's try this again!" said Sonic, gritting his teeth together as he threw the bomb above the plant's entryway, which Megatox was heading straight for. Just before he could lunge at Sonic, the bomb exploded, causing the entryway to crumble into rocks and collapse onto the Mega Mack monster.

"Phew!" panted Sonic. "That was a close one..."

"Way to go, Sonic!" exclaimed Tails before coughing. "Oh, right... Still feeling a little queasy..."

"Too bad we didn't get to destroy the plant..." remarked Sonic, scowling at the pile of rubble in front of the Chemical Plant Zone's entrance. "... Let's go, Tails."

Tails nodded, and started walking for the Emerald Hill Zone alongside Sonic. However, unbeknownst to either of them, Mega Mack was slowly flowing out of the pile of rubble...

---

G.U.N. Commander Abraham Tower marched through the hallways of the Guardian Units of Nations Headquarters, passing by various soldiers and other operatives of G.U.N. Two Mobians had seen the three agents he had sent to West Island. Worst yet, they had beaten them and caused them to retreat back to the United Federation.

Tower rubbed his hand through his white hair. This was not good at all. The two Mobians had probably told the rest of the island's Mobians what they had seen by now, and they might be preparing for next time. He could NOT let these savage creatures jeopardize G.U.N.'s operations on West Island, especially if they were to stop Robotnik from accomplishing whatever he's up to. Tower scowled. If he was going to keep these Mobians from interrupting his plans, he would have to strike first...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

"Think fast, Tails!" exclaimed Sonic as he spin-dashed into his friend.

"OOF!" cried out Tails in pain before collapsing to the ground. The two were outside of Tails' workshop, the sun shining bright over them. Several Mobians were nearby, watching the scene.

"You go, Sonic!" shouted a rabbit.

"Yeah, Sonic , show him why you're the big hero!" exclaimed a walrus.

Tails, listening to the comments, sighed and then stood back up. He spun towards Sonic, his tails stretched out. However, Sonic merely side-stepped the attack, and Tails ended up colliding into a nearby tree.

"Urgh..." groaned Tails as Sonic calmly walked up to him, and simply pushed on him with a finger. Tails, already shaken from the crash, was easily knocked down to the ground with a loud "thud".

"I think that's enough, Sonic..." sighed Tails while rubbing his head. "Can we stop?"

"Oh, sure, Tails!" replied Sonic while grinning. "Though to be honest, I was expecting a bit more of a challenge. I mean, you did want to do this little sparring match. But I see where you're coming from. There ain't no one who can beat someone as cool as THIS hedgehog!"

As the Mobians that were watching the fight gathered around Sonic—asking for authographs and such much like what happened the other day--, Tails sighed and walked off.

---

A while later, Tails was sitting by a pond in the Emerald Hill Zone, tossing rocks and pebbles into the water.

"This isn't fair at all!" asks Tails. "Why does Sonic get all the glory? I work as hard as he does! And I wish he'd show me more respect, too. I'm not some little kid who doesn't understand anything!"

"Well, kid, maybe we can help?" asked a voice from behind the fox. Tails, in surprise, turned around to see two strange oddities. One was a short, gray robot with what looked like a cone with a spring attached to it. It had black spheres for shoulder, and thin arms, but surprisingly red boxing gloves for hands. Its feet were long, black shoes.

The other one was also a robot, but even shorter and smaller. It looked like a red and black bomb, with arms and legs attached to it. It had yellow boxing gloves for hands, and black shoes for feet. The tips of these were also curved up slightly.

"AAAAAH!" screamed Tails. "BADNIKS!"

"Badniks?!" shouted the gray robot. "Where?! WHERE?! DON'T LET 'EM TAKE ME BACK!"

The gray robot crouched down, cowering. The smaller robot, however, smacked it upside the head.

"Stop being such a baby, ya numbskull!" snapped the small robot. "The kid's here just mistaken us for 'em Badniks!"

"Oh!" said the large robot in realization, standing back up. "Well... eh... that's sure a relief!"

"You guys aren't Badniks?" asked Tails. "Yeah, right! Pull the other one!"

"Oh, we're being serious, kid!" replied the small robot. "... Sorta. We're... eh... 'Retired Badniks', shall we say?"

"'Retired Badniks'?" questioned Tails, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, weez didn't like the way our creator was treating us!" exclaimed the large robot, nodding. "It was always 'move this', 'fix that', 'smash that intruder'... Ya know what I'm saying?"

"So we left his Metropolis joint to 'find our own way' and all that spiritual crud." explained the small robot while putting its hand against a tree. "And while going through this here zone, who should we come across but yooz?""

"... Nice story." Remarked Tails. "But it's going to take more than that to get me to believe you guys left Robotnik or whatever!"

"Kid, get it through your thick skull!" groaned the small robot, "We ain't Badniks no more! We'll even be nice and introduce ourselves, capice? I'm Bomb, and this here is Heavy!"

"Hey, I wanted to introduce myself!" complained Heavy.

"Yooz introduce yourself?" asked Bomb, "HA! You don't even know what those things you have for hands are, let alone your name!"

"Sure I do!" replied Heavy, "They're... uh... roxing gloves? Moxing gloves? No, those ain't right..."

"As you can see, old Heavy ain't too bright, kid." whispered Bomb while nudging Tails. "But don't say nuttin', 'kay? I don't want him getting all teary on me!"

"Uh... okay." replied Tails. "You guys don't SEEM to be evil, but still... how do I know this isn't a trick?"

"Because, kid, we're going to help ya with your tiny dilemma!" stated Bomb proudly.

"We are?" asked Heavy.

"Yes, nimrod, we are!" shouted Bomb to his partner before turning back towards Tails. "So ya wanna to be as good a hero as that 'Sonic' guy, eh? Well, as it just so happens, Heavy and I know the perfect way for you to do that!"

"And that is...?" asked Tails.

"Ya gotta use the Chaos Emeralds!" said Bomb.

"WHAT?!" shouted Tails, "But... but... I can't do that! Sonic hid them in the first place so that people like Robotnik wouldn't misuse them! I can't just steal them!"

"Relax, kid!" assured Bomb, "You're not 'stealing' them! You're Sonic's best bud, ain't ya?"

"Yeah... so?" questioned Tails.

"So if yooz and him really are friends, then what's his is yours, vice versa and all that stuff! Plus, you ain't like Robotnik! You're just gonna be using the emeralds' power to get stronger and stuff! That don't sound like misuse to me!"

"I suppose..."

"Atta boy!" exclaimed Bomb while patting Tails on the back. "So how's about we go get these emeralds, huh?"

"Right!" agreed Tails before flying off in the direction of his workshop. Bomb and Heavy both glanced at each other for a short time, then followed.

---

A short time later, Tails and the two robots arrived outside of Tails' workshop. The crowd of Mobians from earlier was now gone, Sonic was sitting under a nearby tree, sleeping... and snoring loudly.

"Hey, Sonic!" exclaimed Tails happily while rushing over to the hedgehog. "Wake up!"

"Huh...?" asked Sonic, his eyes partially opened. "Tails, where you've be-"  
However, Sonic's eyes then completely opened in surprise as he saw Heavy and Bomb behind Tails.

"BADNIKS!" shouted Sonic, leaping onto his feet. "Get back, Tails! I'll trash these two in an instant!"

"No, Sonic!" cried out Tails. "Heavy and Bomb don't work for Robotnik anymore!"

"... What?" asked Sonic.

"It's true!" said Bomb. "We left old Robotnik a while ago! Now we're 'free agent's, travelling around West Island and doing whatever."

"Yeah, whatever!" nodded Heavy in agreement.

"Erm... nice to hear." stated Sonic, making a fake-looking smile. "Tails, could I talked to you for a moment?"

"Sure thing, Sonic!" replied Tails, "I wanted to talk to you about something, too!"

Sonic lead Tails over behind the workshop, glaring at Heavy and Bomb until they were out of view. He then turned back towards Tails.

"Tails, do you really trust those two?" asked Sonic, a grim expression on his face. "They don't seem too nice to me..."

"I think that they're okay, Sonic!" exclaimed Tails. "Sure, I didn't trust them at first either, but they seem pretty sincere! And they even said that they're going to help me!"

"Help you...?" asked Sonic.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about!" replied Tails. "They said that I can use the Chaos Emeralds to make myself a better hero, so—"

"WHAT?!" shouted Sonic in surprise. "Little bud, sorry, but I can't let you have those emeralds! Especially if the 'bots suggested you get them!"

"But Sonic! I've heard everyone talk about how much power the emeralds have! If I can use that power, I can be really awesome and—"

"Kid, no one I know has really used the emeralds' power on themselves before. I'm not even sure if it's possible. Not to mention that those guys are probably just using you!"

Tails' mouth opened, as if to say something, but he immediately closed it.

"... I see how it is." the young fox scowled. "You just don't want me to become as big a hero as you are!"

"Tails, that's not it at—" sighed Sonic.

"SAVE IT!" shouted Tails. "I'm out of here!"

Tails then turned from Sonic, and started stomping away from him.

"TAILS!" shouted Sonic after him. "WAIT!"

"Let's go, guys." mumbled Tails while storming past Heavy and Bomb. The two looked over at Sonic—who was no longer behind the workshop—for a moment, then proceeded to follow Tails.

---

An hour later, Tails was sitting by the same pond from earlier, tossing rocks into it once more. Heavy and Bomb were right beside him, standing up.

"Uh... sorry ya couldn't get the emeralds, kid." said Bomb. "A real shame, that."

"It's not your guys' fault." sighed Tails. "I should have known Sonic wouldn't be willing to give them to us."

"Don't worry, kid." stated Bomb. "Everyone makes mistakes. Like how we made the mistake of not going to Plan B at first. Right, Heavy?"

"Right!" exclaimed Heavy. "Uh... what's Plan B again?"

"That's when we take the... 'garbage' out." replied Bomb. "The ORANGE garbage."  
"'Orange garbage'?" asked Heavy. "Uh... I think yooz got a few screws loose, Bomb, I don't see any orange—OH! OH, YEAH! NOW I REMEMBER!"

"What are you guys talking abou—" started Tails before turning around towards Heavy and Bomb. However, rather than see the two, the last thing he saw was Heavy's fist. Then, everything went black...

---

"HEY, TAILS!" shouted Sonic at the top of his lungs. He had been looking around the Emerald Hill Zone for hours and he had still found no sign of his friend. He had already checked out most of the places Tails hung out at, but even those had held no signs of him.

Sonic continued to think to himself. He was SURE that the two "former" Badniks—as if—Tails was hanging out with, had something to do with Tails' sudden disappearance. But then again, Tails WAS pretty angry with him. Who knows where he could have gone?

"Looking for somethin'?" asked a familiar voice from behind Sonic. He turned around, and saw Bomb sitting on a rock.

"I WAS." stated Sonic, approaching Bomb. "But I think I found it. 'Bomb', wasn't it? Well, how's about telling me where Tails is before I really make you explode?"  
"Don't worry, you'll see the little twerp again!" said Bomb in a surprisingly happy manner. "But first things first. Doc Robotnik wants us to do some business with yooz."

"So you ARE still working for Robotnik." smirked Sonic, "Can't say I'm surprised. And let me guess. You want the Chaos Emeralds in exchange for Tails, right?"

"Aw, jeez, yooz just had to go ahead and ruin the suspense!" snapped Bomb. "But yeah, that's basically the deal we want to make with ya. Get the green emeralds, and meet me and Heavy at the northern outskirts of the zone. Once ya give us the emeralds, we'll let the brat go. If not... well, it's curtains for him! Oh, and if you're thinking of smashing me and then heading there, ya better forget it. Heavy's not there right now, and is hidden pretty well. A first for him... but anyway, see ya!"

Without saying another word, Bomb calmly walked off, Sonic glaring at him.

---

Another hour later, Sonic ran into the Emerald Hill Zone, carrying a large, black box.

"HEAVY!" he shouted. "BOMB! I HAVE THE EMERALDS!"

"About time yooz got here!" snapped Bomb's voice from behind Sonic. Sonic turned around, seeing Bomb come out from behind a large rock.

"Yeah, yeah." said Sonic, rolling his eyes while dropping the box. "Just take the emeralds, and let Tails go."

"I gotta check the merchandise first, pal." Stated Bomb before walking up to the box and slowly opening it. Inside laid seven green emeralds in a pile.

"Heh, looks like you completed the job after all, chump!" stated Bomb smugly.

"Yeah, yeah." sighed Sonic. "Now fulfill your end of the deal and release Tails!"

"About that..." started Bomb, approaching Sonic. "There's been in a change in plans, see?"

"... 'Change in plans'?" asked Sonic, peering at Bomb.

"Yup." responded Bomb. "Yooz really should have seen it coming."  
Bomb then stopped in place once right in front of Sonic, and his fuse suddenly lit. Before Sonic could do anything, Bomb turned completely red and exploded, sending Sonic flying into the air. Sonic then crashed to the ground with a loud "thud", and his eyes closed...

---

"Urgh..." groaned Sonic as his eyes slowly opened, only to see nothing but pitch blackness. "... I REALLY should have seen that coming..."

"Sonic, you're awake!" shouted a high-pitched voice from in the darkness. "Phew! I was worried they really hurt you!"

"Is that you, Tails?" asked Sonic. "Glad to see you're okay, buddy! But... uh... do you know where we are?"

"Heavy and Bomb's truck." explained Tails. "I'm not sure where we're parked, but I think it's Metropolis. I can smell something rotten in the air...

"Probably old Eggman himself." snickered Sonic. "But anyway..."

Sonic stretched out his hands, and started feeling around the blackness. Soon enough, he felt a wall and grinned.

"Time for us to get out of here, Tails!" exclaimed Sonic before crouching down, and spinning straight towards the wall. As soon as he collided into it, it shattered, and Sonic went spinning outside. Once there, he stopped, and stood back up.

"That was awesome, Sonic!" shouted Tails as he dashed through the hole that Sonic had made, and landed right beside the hedgehog.

"All in a day's work." replied Sonic proudly. He then started to look around at his surroundings, and could see skyscrapers all around. All of these were a sleek silver, and in the distance were several smoke stacks. Flying through the air above Sonic and Tails were bee-like robots with red faces and black upper bodies. Their lower bodies were yellow and black, with lasers attached to them, and on their backs were jets.

"Yep, this is Metropolis all right." observed Sonic. "The skyscrapers... the pollution... the Buzzers... you gotta hate it."

"And where exactly were we locked up in?" asked Tails before turning around towards where he and Sonic had come out. In front of him was a silver semi truck with a hole in its trailer.

"This piece of junk is probably what Heavy and Bomb travelled around in." commented Sonic while looking at the truck.

"Yeah... probably." replied Tails before turning towards Sonic. "Look, Sonic... I... I'm sorry about causing this whole mess. If I hadn't trusted Heavy and Bomb, if I hadn't wanted to be as big a hero as you...!"

"Simmer down, buddy." interrupted Sonic. "This wasn't your fault at all. Heavy and Bomb were pretty good con artists, and heck, if I was your age, I probably would have been tricked, too! Besides, I can totally understand wanting to be way past cool like me! So there's no need to get upset, all right?"

"... All right." sighed Tails.

"Good to hear!" exclaimed Sonic. "Now let's get out of this dump!"

"Wait!" shouted Tails. "But what about the Chaos Emeralds? I heard Heavy and Bomb talking about how you handed them over!"

"Eh... not exactly." smirked Sonic broadly. "I'll explain it on the way back  
to the Emerald Hill Zone. For now, let's leave."

"Right!" agreed Tails before dashing off alongside Sonic.

"Oh, what a glorious day this is!" gloated Dr. Robotnik, jumping up from behind his desk. In front of him were Heavy and Bomb, the former carrying the emerald container. SA-55 was still sitting on Robotnik's desk, rolling his eyes as the doctor started to skip across the room.

"Uh... what's he doin'?" asked a very confused Bomb.

"Doing his 'victory dance', or some nonsense." answered SA-55. "Personally , I'm glad that he's not using his chair as a dance partner this time..."

"I just KNEW that you two would be my greatest machines yet!" grinned Robotnik as he stopped skipping around, and stared at Heavy and Bomb. "You were actually to get the Chaos Emeralds from the accursed hedgehog! I was almost thinking that it could never get accomplished! HA!"

"I had already been thinking it for a while..." remarked SA-55 before snickering in a rather high-pitched voice.

"Now, to see my prizes..." began Robotnik, reaching for the emerald container. However, as soon as he started to, Heavy pulled it away from his reach.

"... WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" screamed Robotnik. "HEAVY! Hand over those emeralds!"

"Not so fast, Doc!" stated Bomb, wagging his finger at Robotnik. "First, ya gotta pay da piper!"  
"Yeah!" said Heavy. "500,000 rings for the emeralds!"

"... WHAT?!" shouted Robotnik.  
"Ya heard him!" snapped Bomb. "500,000 rings for the emeralds! Sheesh, Heavy, looks like you ain't the only dimwit in this room!"

"... Am I hearing this right?!" exclaimed Robotnik. "My own robots are attempting to swindle ME out of MY money?!"  
"It appears, Doctor, that you programmed them a little TOO well..." said SA-55.

"Well, this can be easily remedied!" grinned Robotnik. "GUARDS!"

Four robots then entered the room—each had a red body with jets on their sides, and a blue face resembling an insect's. Yellow antennas were on their heads, and they had small, yellow, razor-sharp pincers for arms. Rather than feet, they had black wheels.

"MOTOBUGS!" bellowed Dr. Robotnik. "APPREHEND THESE TWO TRAITORS!"

"Not so fast!" objected Bomb. "If any of dem Motobugs come any closer, I explode! And then who knows what happens to your precious emeralds?"

"But Bomb!" exclaimed Heavy. "If yooz won't be explode, won't I be hit, too?"

"Yeah." replied Bomb. "Your point being...?"

"Uh... uh... n-nuttin'!" stuttered Heavy nervously.

"... OH, FINE!" shouted Robotnik. "YOU WIN! I'll pay! Blasted machines..."

"Glad we could come to an arrangement!" replied Bomb happily.

---

"COMING THROUGH!" shouted Sonic as he spin-dashed down a street, and through several red crab-like robots with googly eyes—Robotnik's "Crabmeat" units. Up in the air, Tails was narrowly dodging lasers blasts fired by multiple Buzzers, and smacking them down with his tails.

"These things are everywhere!" complained Tails as one Buzzer singed one of his tails with a laser blast. "YOW!"

"Eh, I fought plenty more back on South Island!" responded Sonic as he jumped over an oncoming Motobug, then spin-dashed into it from behind. "These guys are hardly worth the e—"

Before Sonic could finish, a green, preying mantis-like robot suddenly leaped onto him, and tackled him to the ground.

"OOF!" cried Sonic as he collided into the ground.

"You shouldn't have been so arrogant, hedgehog!" yelled the mantis-like robot—a "Slicer"—as it raised one of its two claws above Sonic's head. Before it could bring it down, however, Tails suddenly swooped down and punched the Slicer in the face, knocking it off of Sonic.

"Thanks, Tails!" said Sonic as he stood back up onto his feet.

"No problem, Sonic!" responded Tails, giving a thumbs up.

Sonic then spin-dashed into the Slicer, smashing it into pieces.

"We're almost out of the city, bud!" stated Sonic as he continued to run down the street. "Just a little longer..."

---

"THERE!" yelled Dr. Robotnik. "500,000 rings, all gathered up!"

Robotnik motioned at the four Motobugs, who all had a large bag on each of their backs. Each Motobug looked like it was straining to not fall from the pressure, and a screw even popped out of one.

"I knew ya could do it, Doc!" snickered Bomb. "All right, Heavy! Give 'em the emeralds!"

"Yooz got it, Bomb!" nodded Heavy before setting down the container.

"At last..." said Robotnik, rubbing his hands together. "The Chaos Emeralds are mine!"

Robotnik slowly opened the container, grinning broadly. Eventually, the container was completely opened, revealing the seven green emeralds.

"... WHAT ARE THESE?!" screamed Robotnik, moving his hands through the pile of emeralds, as if looking for something.

"Whatcha yelling about?" questioned Bomb. "These are the Chaos Emeralds! Just as you wanted!"

"THESE AREN'T THE CHAOS EMERALDS, YOU STUPID PIECES OF SCRAP!" shouted Robotnik. "These are just ordinary emeralds! The Chaos Emeralds are composed of all kinds of different colours!"

"Yooz never told us that!" yelled Bomb. "We just assumed dey were green, like practically all emeralds are!"

"Sonic..." muttered Robotnik. "SONIC! He knew that you didn't know about the emeralds being different colours! He tricked you idiots! He-he-he—ARGH!"

"Speaking of your oh-so-hated nemesis..." started SA-55 while looking at the computer monitor on Robotnik's desk. "You should come look at this."

Robotnik stomped over to the desk, and looked down at the computer screen. On it was some security camera footage showing Sonic and Tails just outside of the city. As Tails walked out of view, Sonic glanced over towards the camera, and stuck out his tongue. He then dashed off out of view as well.

"... I. HATE. THAT. HEDGEHOOOOOG!" screamed Robotnik into the air, before turning Heavy and Bomb. "AND I HATE TREACHEROUS ROBOTS JUST AS MUCH!

"Uh... I think this deal's gone bad, Bomb!" said Heavy with much fear as Robotnik approached him and his partner, SA-55 and the Motobugs looking on.

"Ya think?!" exclaimed Bomb.

---

"...So when I ran into Bomb while I was looking for you, he called the Chaos Emeralds 'green emeralds' , that's when I figured out that he had no idea that each of the Chaos Emeralds had a different colour." explained Sonic to Tails as they walked into the Emerald Hill Zone. "I just gathered up some ordinary emeralds, and brought them to the 'bots!"

"Wow, that was smart, Sonic!" said Tails, amazed. "... A lot smarter than me trusting those guys to begin with...

"Come on, Tails, we already had this discussion!" sighed Sonic. "You don't need to keep beating yourself over this!"

"Yeah, yeah..." mumbled Tails. "I just... need to go think."

Tails then walked away, while Sonic stayed where he was, sighing. A few moments later, he walked off as well.

---

"Hey, Steve!" shouted a rooster as it looked out at the ocean with his telescope, standing at one of the Emerald Hill Zone's many beaches. "I think I see something out there!"

"You're just making stuff up again, Ron." replied another rooster—presumably "Steve". "Now come on! I want to get back to the house!"

"But I'm serious!" protested Ron. "There's really something out the-"

"Ah, shut up!" snorted Steve as he started to walk away from Ron. "I'm going!"

"H-hey, wait for me!" complained Ron before running after Steve.

As the two ran off, several black dots off in the horizon approached West Island, getting closer... and closer...


	4. Chapter 4

All characters belong to their respective owners.

**Chapter 4**

Commander Abraham Tower stood solemnly, observing the computer monitors all around him. Were it not for the light emanating from the screens, the whole room would be completely-pitch black. The  
screens themselves showed several events occurring in West Island's Emerald Hill Zone—Mobian children playing, older ones talking to each other, and some just sleeping under trees—none of them suspected a thing.  
Tower snorted. Mobians. Such a disgusting, lazy species. The ones here on West Island didn't know the first thing about war—it wouldn't be that surprising if none of them had lifted a weapon in their entire lives. Of course, this would make things all the more easy. The Mobians' lazy life style wouldn't be of much help once the G.U.N. fleet arrived...

---

"This is the life, huh, Tails?" asked Sonic, as he laid down on the grass outside of Tails' shop. Near him, Tails was standing up, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah... really peaceful." muttered Tails, still staring up.

"Tails... PLEASE don't tell me that you're still upset over the whole 'Heavy and Bomb' thing!" sighed Sonic. "Come on, man! Lighten up!'

"Sonic, it's not that easy—"

"HELP!" screamed a voice, interrupting Tails. "SONIC! TAILS!"

Sonic immediately jumped onto his feet and turned towards the direction in which the voice came from alongside Tails. Soon enough, a small penguin came into view, running towards the duo as fast as he could. Peculiarly, the penguin was wearing a black tuxedo.

"Tux?" exclaimed Tails in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"It's t-t-TERRIBLE!" cried out Tux. "I was just hanging around at the beach, when a bunch of robots came out of nowhere, firing lasers like crazy! I managed to get out of there, but there are still some others under attack!"

"Sounds like Robotnik's back to his old 'invade zones with Badniks' routine!" smirked Sonic as he cracked his knuckles. "Good, too! That's my favourite exercise! Don't worry, Tux, we'll go save the others at the beach, and send Eggman's 'bots packing! Let's go, Tails!

"Already on it!" said Tails as he flew into the air. As Sonic ran in the direction of the beach, Tails followed.

"Be careful, guys!" yelled out Tux.

---

"Don't worry, folks, Sonic the hedgehog is here to save the—" started Sonic as he skidded to a stop at the Emerald Hill Zone's beach. However, he immediately stopped, and stared at the scene on the beach. Many Mobians were running around in panic, screaming as several robots fired lasers all around. The robots were shaped like humanoids, with long, silver legs and bulky, red and blue bodies. Their arms were just as bulky, and rather than right hands, they had large laser blasters. Instead of left hands, they had smaller laser blasters, and for heads, they each had a single, robotic eye.

"What are you waiting for, Sonic?" asked Tails as he landed beside his hero. "We gotta smash these robots!"

"I know, Tails, it's just..." began Sonic. "... I'm certain these things weren't built by Robotnik. They don't really look like something he'd design."

"Then, who built them?" asked Tails.

"No idea." shrugged Sonic. "But enough talk! Let's take these things down!"  
Sonic crouched down, then proceeded to spin-dash straight through the chest of one of the robots, exposing its circuitry. As the robot collapsed, Sonic landed behind it and the other robots turned towards him.

"What's wrong?" asked Sonic. "Don't want to avenge your pal?"

As Sonic spoke, the robots raised their larger blasters, and proceeded to fire lasers at him.

"YOW!" cried out Sonic as he started to run and one laser singed his tail. "That answers my question!"

The robots continued trying to fire at the blue blur, but Tails suddenly spin-dashed into one's head from the air, completely smashing its eye. It then collapsed as well.

"These robots aren't so tough!" said Tails proudly. Just then, however, a laser blast hit Tails from behind, causing him to fall to the ground with a loud "thud".

"Urgh..." groaned Tails as he slowly stood back up. "What was...?"

Tails looked up, and saw another type of robot floating in the air. This one shaped was shaped like a block of some sort, and with what looked like a "lid" on top of it. A jet booster was on its back, this most likely being what allowed it to hover. Several others were also floating behind it.

"How many are there...?" Tails thought. He then noticed the shadow of one of the non-flying robots on the ground around him, and quickly rolled away from where he was sitting at, just as the non-flying robot slammed its foot down onto where he had been.

"That was a close one!" sighed Tails before flying back up into the air, smashing the flying robot that had blasted him earlier with a swing of his tails.

"Great work, buddy!" remarked Sonic as he spin-dashed into more and more of the robots on the ground. "Just keep on smashing 'em!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" said Tails as he continued to swing his tails into the flying robots. Soon enough, all of the robots on the beach had been reduced to scrap, and Sonic skidded to a stop as Tails landed beside him.

"WOO-HOO!" yelled out Tails in excitement while jumping in the air. "We did it!"

"Was there ever any doubt we couldn't?" asked Sonic, smiling broadly. "Now I'm just wondering where those 'bots came from..."  
Sonic slowly walked over to one of the trashed "ground robots" and started looking over it. Almost right away, he saw the initials "G.U.N." on the right side of its chest.

"Hey, Tails..." said Sonic as the fox walked over to him. "This look familiar?"

"Hmm... not reall-OH!" exclaimed Tails. "'G.U.N.'! We saw those same initials on those humans from the other night!"

"Yep." replied Sonic. "So it wouldn't surprise me if they had something to do with—"

"SONIC!" interrupted Tails, pointing behind Sonic. "LOOK!"  
Sonic immediately turned around towards the ocean, to see several ships approaching West Island... fast.

"... This day keeps getting better and better." sarcastically remarked Sonic.

"Uh... Sonic?" asked Tails while staring at the approaching ship nervously. "Maybe we should leave...?"

"Erm... good idea." responded Sonic. "Of course, I could totally take on whatever's on those ships... I just want to make sure everyone else in the zone is safe first!"

"Good idea, Sonic!" commented Tails before flying into the air and following Sonic as he sped in the direction of Tails' workshop.

---

As the two left the beach, they did not see several helicopters take off from the oncoming ships. Not long after, the helicopters slowly landed on the grass beside the beach. Almost immediately after the helicopters completely landed, squads of G.U.N. soldiers flooded out of each one, rushing over to the remains of the robots on the beach. Commander Abraham Tower walked out of one of the helicopters himself, and approached the robot wreckage.

"Private!" exclaimed Tower to one of the soldiers looking over the robots' remains. "What happened here?"

"Uh... we're not entirely sure, sir." replied the soldier, looking up at his superior. "It appears if as though some of the Mobians were actually able to trash the Gun Hunters and Gun Beetles. It must have taken at least ten of them to do this kind of damage!"

"Well, it looks like the Mobians grew some back bones after all..." muttered Tower to himself. "Radio back to the fleet, private. Tell them to send in more soldiers and machines. While I doubt the Mobians will be much of a threat, we may still need the extra help."

"Yes, sir!" saluted the soldier before standing up and running over to one of the helicopters, so as to get a radio. Tower stared back at the remains of the Gun Hunters and Gun Beetles, wondering what Mobians were responsible...

---

"Out of the way, everyone!" shouted Sonic, struggling to make his way through the crowd of Mobians standing near Tails' shop. Soon enough, he made his way to the front of the crowd just as Tails landed beside him.

"Glad I can fly!" smiled Tails.

"Har har." replied Sonic sarcastically before turning towards the hysteric crowd. "Everyone! You all need to calm down! There's nothing to get work up ov—"

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?" screamed a pig. "I've heard there are more of those things popping up all over the island, destroying our homes!"

"Yeah, I was over at the village in the Hill Top Zone when some of those flying machines appeared!" added a monkey. "They started blasting the whole place to smithereens, and all of us there barely got away!"

"YOU GOTTA HELP US, SONIC!" yelled Tux, running up to the hedgehog. "YOU GOTTA—"

"EVERYONE, SHUT UP!" screamed Sonic as loudly as he possible could.

Almost immediately, the crowd quieted down, Tux backing up into the crowd.

"Eh-heh... sorry, Sonic." he apologized.

"It's okay." sighed Sonic. "Look, everyone. There's nothing to worry about! Tails and I have dealt with Robotnik before. Compared to him, these new guys should be complete pushovers! So all of you just sit back, relax, and watch as I take down these—"

Suddenly, a small missile collided into the ground near the crowd, immediately creating a small explosion. The Mobians in the crowd started to run around in alarm, screaming.

"How many times have I been interrupted lately...?" mumbled Sonic.

More missiles began hitting the ground around the crowd and exploding. Not far away, in a cluster of trees, Commander Tower watched from behind a small group of G.U.N. soldiers carrying missile launchers.

"Looks like your plan worked, sir." commented one of the soldiers. "The little freaks don't know what to do!"

"Just the way I want it." smirked Tower. "Send in the Gun Hunters. We'll take care of the inhabitants here right now, then go searching for the emeralds."

"You got it, sir!" replied another soldier before pulling out a remote control and pressing a button on it. Several Gun Hunters then rushed out from behind Tower and the other soldiers, towards the screaming crowd of Mobians.

"SONIC!" shouted Tails, pointing at the Gun Hunters. "More of those 'bots!"

"Somehow, I'm not that surprised." said Sonic before running towards one of the Gun Hunters, and spin-dashing straight through its chest. As the Hunter collapsed, several others started firing lasers at the blue hedgehog, who dodged every single one.

"Come on, you pieces of scrap!" taunted Sonic as he spin-dashed Gun Hunter after Gun Hunter. "Badniks have better aiming than this! Well... maybe they're a little worse, but your aiming is still pretty bad!"

"S-sir!" stuttered a G.U.N. soldier. "That thing's moving so fast...!"

"So it is..." muttered Tower. "SOLDIERS! Move in and help out the Hunters! We have enough damaged robots to pay for!"

The soldiers all around Tower nodded, and proceeded to set down their missile launchers. They then ran out towards Sonic and the Gun Hunters, pulling out rifles as they did so. At the same time, Tails was flying above the still panicking crowd of Mobians, trying to calm them down.

"Everyone, I'm sure Sonic's going to take care of these robots no problem!" exclaimed Tails. "So can you please all stop running around?"

Despite Tails' pleas, the crowd still showed no sign of calming down. Tails sighed, then looked over at where Sonic was fighting the Gun Hunters, only to see the G.U.N. soldiers approaching the hedgehog from behind.

"SONIC!" shouted Tails. "BEHIND YOU!"

"Huh...?" questioned Sonic before looking behind himself, seeing the G.U.N. soldiers raising their rifles. The soldiers started to shoot at Sonic, who quickly ran out of the way.

"Hey, I recognize these uniforms!" remarked Sonic as he ran up to one soldier and kicked him into another. "We ran into some of you guys the other night! Have to say, you still aren't all that impressive—"

A laser then hit Sonic from behind, knocking him to the ground. A few moments, several Gun Hunters towered over him.

"Oh, right." mumbled Sonic as the Gun Hunters grabbed him and pulled him up. "Forgot about you fellas..."

"You won't be dodging this bullet, ya stinkin' rat!" snapped one soldier as he walked up to Sonic and aimed his rifle straight at the hedgehog's head. However, before he could pull the trigger, Tails swooped and kicked him in the back of the head, knocking him down.

"Heh, you've been saving me a lot lately, Tails!" stated Sonic before pulling himself free from the Gun Hunters' grip, and spin-dashing into them.

"It's no big deal!" commented Tails before kicking a few more G.U.N. soldiers, knocking them down as well.

"Well, I think it's safe to say this fight is in the bag!" laughed Sonic as he spin-dashed through the last few Gun Hunters.

"Yeah!" replied Tails. "Nothing can beat—"

Just then, more missiles hit the ground all around Sonic and Tails, causing more explosions. Dozens of more G.U.N. soldiers and Gun Hunters had arrived, quite a few of the soldiers carrying missile launchers. Overheard, a swarm of Gun Beetles, as well as several helicopters, were approaching the battle.

"Enough fooling around, men!" shouted Commander Tower, stepping in front of the soldiers and Hunters. "This farce has gone on long enough!"

The soldiers carrying missile launchers proceeded to fire all around the area, narrowly missing the crowd of Mobians. However, several missiles hit the side of Tails' workshop, knocking down an entire wall.

"No, my workshop!" shouted Tails. "Sonic, we have to stop these guys before they destroy anymore of the zone!"

"Urk... I hate to say it, Tails..." sighed Sonic, looking at the dozens of G.U.N soldiers and Gun Hunters, as well as the approaching reinforcements. "... But we have to get out of here!"

"Seriously?" asked Tails in disbelief.

"Yep." replied Sonic before turning towards the crowd of Mobians. "EVERYONE! I know you're all frightened, but come on! We have to evacuate to the Mystic Cave Zone! The next missiles that are fired COULD actually hit us!"

Soon enough, the crowd members stopped running around in panic, and proceeded to all run off in the same direction, Sonic and Tails following.

"How'd you get them to stop panicking just like that...?" asked Tails.

"Oh, I just have that kind of effect on people." smirked Sonic broadly. As the Mobians ran off, Tower stood exactly where he was, staring...

---

A few hours later, in the Mystic Cave Zone, Sonic sighed as he walked through the crowd of Emerald Hill folk. They had all managed to take refuge in the underground tunnels of the zone... as dark and creepy as they may be. Sonic stopped near some of the cave's famous "glowing crystals" that were sitting on the ground, and looked around. All of the hill folk looked miserable, with several children—and even some adults—crying. All because they had lost their homes, and had nearly lost their lives. All because Sonic hadn't been able to fight back against those "G.U.N." humans or whoever they were.

"I think now I REALLY know how Tails feels..." thought Sonic.

"I'm back, everyone!" shouted Tails as he walked into the cave. Sonic and several other Mobians gathered around him.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Sonic. "Did you get the Tornado?"

"Yep!" exclaimed Tails proudly. "It's sitting right outside! Luckily for us, those G.U.N. guys hadn't stuck around the workshop!"

"Awesome!" shouted Tux. "... So... uh... why did you get the Tornado?"

"We're going to get help taking these jerks down." replied Sonic. "From the Republic of Acorn!"

"Seriously?" shouted a rabbit in shock. "Yeah... the Republic could totally help us out! They've got their own army and stuff!"

"YIPPEE!" screamed Tux. "We're going to get our homes back!"

All of the other Mobians inside of the cave began to talk in excitement, some mentioning how the "Republic of Acorn is going to kick butt!" and "those humans won't know what hit 'em!"

"Heh, that sure got everyone's hopes back up..." observed Sonic. "You ready to go to the Republic of Acorn, Tails?"

"Am I!" replied Tails before rushing back outside.

"Don't worry, everyone!" shouted Sonic as he slowly followed Tails. "We'll be back! And with help, too! So everyone just sit tight, and get ready to see a big old fight when we come back!"

The crowd of Mobians proceeded to cheer, and was still doing so as Sonic walked out of the cave.

---

Somewhere in the Emerald Hill Zone, the G.U.N. forces had already managed to set up a small camp. Several tents were all around, along with helicopters and other pieces of equipment. Commander Tower was standing at a table with a map of West Island in front of him, and several G.U.N. soldiers beside him.

"Looks like the freaks in this zone managed to get to the Mystic Cave Zone, Commander." reported one of the soldiers. "Should we go after them?"

"No need, soldier." replied Tower. "Let the Mobians relax for now. We'll deal with them if our search brings us to their little hiding spot. For now, our main focus is looking for the Chaos Emeralds. Is that clear?"

"SIR, YES, SIR!" shouted all of the soldiers around Tower.

---

A red bi-plane flew in the skies above the ocean, not too far away from West Island. On the sides of it, "SONIC" had been painted on. And sitting inside of it were Sonic and Tails, the latter sitting in the pilot's seat.

"Ugh... I feel so cramped in this seat." complained Sonic.

"Don't worry, Sonic!" assured Tails. "We'll be in the Republic of Acorn before you know it! And... uh... are you sure it was a good idea to leave the Emerald Hill folk unprotected?"

"Of course, Tails!" said Sonic. "They'll be fine! I'm sure those G.U.N. losers won't be able to find them, even if they do know that they're in the Mystic Cave Zone!"

"Well, alright..." replied Tails, unsure.

---

Back in the Mystic Cave Zone, the crowd of Mobians continued to talk amongst themselves.

"Yeah, you'll all see!" said Tux to some Mobians around himself. "Sonic and Tails are gonna be back with a whole army, and—"

"Well, well, well..." echoed a familiar voice all around the Mobians, whom all immediately stopped talked. "What do we have here, SA-55?"

"It appears to be a few dozen Mobians, Doctor." replied another voice. "They all seem to believe that they're safe in this zone. How ignorant."

Doctor Robotnik's Eggmobile then floated down from the ceiling, Robotnik sitting inside, and SA-55 sitting on the machine's control panel. Several Motobugs, Crabmeats, Slicers, and various other types of Badniks then began to walk out of the darkness, and surround the Mobians.

"Well, I suppose that will have to be changed!" grinned Robotnik maliciously as the Badniks slowly approached the Mobians...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Welcome to Mobotropolis, Tails!" exclaimed Sonic as he and Tails stood in the middle of one of the city's bustling streets.

"Woooooow…" stated Tails, looking in awe at his surroundings. All around were tall skyscrapers that looked like they could reach into space. The duo was currently in Mobotropolis' business area, where companies like MeteoTech and Crimson Cobra Industries were based. On the other side of the city was the residential area, which was comprised of small huts, a stark contrast to the towering buildings in the business area. And in the center of the city was Castle Acorn, the majestic palace home to the royal family and the Council of Acorn.

"I've never seen so many buildings and people, Sonic!" commented Tails, now looking at the crowds of Mobians walking through the street.

"Eh, I'm not really one for crowds." responded Sonic while, as if almost on cue, several passing Mobians bumped into him. "… Exactly why I dislike coming here.

"Wait, have you been here before, Sonic?" asked Tails, a puzzled expression on his face.

"A few times, yeah…" replied Sonic before trailing off. "Anyway, let's get to Castle Acorn. We need to talk to the council!"

"Right!" agreed Tails before going further into the street with Sonic, passing through the enormous crowd. As they walked, however…

"Hey, kid!" shouted a high-pitched voice near Tails. "Watch where you're going!"

"Huh?" asked Tails, looking around in confusion. "Who said that?"

"I did!" shouted the same voice. "Down here, dummy!"

Tails and Sonic both promptly looked down to see a small, green salamander right in front of Tails, only a little taller than the fox's feet..

"You almost stepped on me, punk!" exclaimed the salamander, shaking his fist at Tails. "Because of you not watching where you're going, I could have ended up as a green blotch on the pavement!"

"I'm s-s-sorry, sir!" stammered Tails. "It won't happen again!"

"Oh, it better not!" hissed the salamander, now punching the air. "Or I'll give you the old one-two!"

"Hey, he apologized!" snapped Sonic. "Lay off on the kid! Besides, you're… erm… a little small to do any real damage, don't you think?"

"A LITTLE SMALL?" screamed the salamander in anger. "Don't you dare call me that again, hedgehog, or I'll pound you so hard…!"

"Riiiiight." replied Sonic, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Tails. I don't think we need to talk to this _shrimp_ anymore."

With a snicker, Tails followed Sonic further down the street while the salamander glared at them angrily.

"I… uh… I'll let you get away with that 'shrimp' remark!" yelled the salamander after Sonic. "But next time, it's war, ya hear me? WAR!"

* * *

"Here we are!" said Sonic proudly as he and Tails came up to a large gate. "Castle Acorn!"

Beyond the gates was a gigantic, yellow castle with several towers all around it. Even from the outside, one could tell that the castle had dozens of floors, with who knows how many rooms on each one. Also all around the castle were crimson banners, with an acorn-the symbol of the republic-on each one. And at the very top of the castle was a bell, shaped like an acorn itself.

"Wow… this just so… majestic!" exclaimed Tails. "It puts all of those other buildings to shame!"

"Heh… I suppose." chuckled Sonic. "Anyway, let's head inside."

"All right!" exclaimed Tails in excitement. The two approached the castle gate, which had two muscular bull dogs wearing green berets standing in front of it.

"Hey, guys!" greeted Sonic as he walked up to the two guards. "We're here to see the Council of Acorn. Mind moving aside?"

The guards stayed right where they were and didn't even look down at Sonic or Tails, almost as if they were completely unaware of their existence.

"Hey, guys?" asked Sonic. "Hello? I'm standing right here! Mobius to guards!"

"We heard you." confirmed the first guard.

"Good!" replied Sonic. "Then you could please move?"

"No." bluntly stated the second guard.

"Uh… I'm going to have to ask you to change that to a 'yes.'" stated Sonic. "It's kind of an emergency, and we REALLY need to see the council."

"We're not going to let just _anyone _in, hedgehog." snorted the second guard. "Do you have any idea how easy that would make it for thieves, assassins, and-my personal least favourite-_salesmen _to get inside?"

"But we're not any of those!" objected Sonic. "We need to speak to the council!"

"Sorry, but rules are rules." shrugged the first guard. "If you want, you can visit the souvenir stand. They have all kinds of Council of Acorn merchandise!"

"Oh, forget it!" yelled Sonic. "Come on, Tails. We're out of here."

Sonic proceeded to walk away from the castle gates, Tails hesitantly following.

"But Sonic!" he whispered. "You could easily take those guys out and bust your way inside!'

"Uh… that'd be kind of illegal, Tails." responded Sonic. "I'm don't think that would really help in getting the council to assist us."

"Oh, right…" sighed Tails, looking down at the ground. "Then I guess there's nothing we can do to save West Island, huh?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, little buddy!" grinned Sonic. "I think I have a plan…"

* * *

"FATHER! We need to talk!"

Inside of Castle Acorn, a squirrel with brown fur and dark auburn hair-and who was also wearing a blue vest and boots-stomped into Maximillian Acorn's throne room. This was Sally Acorn, princess of the Republic of Acorn. In front of her stood King Maximillian Acorn himself. He was a brown squirrel as well, with a thin white mustache and a blue uniform adorned with golden buttons. Several of Maximillian's retainers were standing around him, staring at the princess as she barged in.

"Hello, Sally." greeted Max nonchalantly, seemingly not noticing his daughter's anger. "Everyone, would you please leave us? It appears that my daughter wishes to have a private conversation."

The retainers all nodded and proceeded to walk out of the room without a word, staring at Sally once more as they did so. After they were all gone, Max sighed and sat down on his throne.

"Sally…" he began. "What is it this time?"

"I've just heard that you and the rest of the council have refused to grant the king of Mercia an audience tonight." responded Sally, tapping her foot as she spoke. "Is this true?"

"Yes, it is." replied Max coldly.

"But… why?" questioned Sally. "We both know that Mercia is under attack by human forces, and is quickly being overtaken. We just need to send them support!"

"Oh, Sally, how I wish that we could." sighed Max. "But we do not have the resources. We already know that these humans are getting ready for a strike on the republic as well, so we must prepare our own defenses! Not to mention that we already have our own problems within the republic, such as the organized crime, that fanatical group of anarchists, and our dwindling supply of Power Rings. Select members of the council are in agreement-"

"Would one of these 'select members' happen to be Naugus?" asked Sally spitefully.

"As a matter of fact, yes." responded Max. "I still don't understand why you distrust him, Sally. He's served the royal family faithfully for decades!"

"It's just… there's something about him, father." said Sally, shivering. "I _really_ distrust him. But this isn't is about Naugus, it's about Merica. Father, if we don't do anything, so many people are going to die! So many people already have!"

"I'm sorry, Sally, but there's nothing I can do." stated Max. "We shall deal with our own problems; let Mercia deal with their's."

"But… you can't… URGH!" shouted Sally in frustration. "I can't believe you're being so cold! It's just like what happened with Mom!"

Before Max could respond, Sally stomped back out of the throne room, angrier than when she entered. After she left, Max just sighed once more and put to his chin, contemplating something…

* * *

"But Roooooob! I want to go check the city out!"

Inside of Mobotropolis' Mercia embassy-right by the front entrace, to be exact-a pink-furred hedgehog with short quills, white gloves on her hands, a red dress, and red boots was talking to another hedgehog with teal fur. This hedgehog wore a brown hood, gloves, and boots. This hedgehog was Rob O'the Hedge, the young king of Mercia. And the other hedgehog was his cousin, Amy Rose.

"I apologize, cousin, but I have heard that this fair city can be most foul at night!" responded Rob to Amy's pleas. "There could be many rogues lurking in the shadows!"

"Oh, come on, Rob!" pleaded Amy again. "I'm a big girl! I can defend myself! Besides, I came along on this trip to see the city in the first place, not just watch you do politics!"

"I suppose it is true that thou can conjure up that powerful hammer of yours…" sighed Rob. "…Fine. I shall let thee go out tonight, but thou must promise not to stay out too late! We are heading back to Mercia early tomorrow, seeing as how the Council of Acorn refused to even meet with me."

"Thanks, Rob!" exclaimed Amy, giving her cousin a warm embrace. "You're the best! And don't worry, if anyone tries robbing me, I'll send 'em flying!"

""Erm… yes, I have seen thou do so in the past." said Rob rather nervously. "Just remember to be back here early, for we have a long trek before us!"

"Yeah, yeah, you can count on me." replied Amy before rushing out the embassy doors. "See ya!"

* * *

That night, the streets of Mobotropolis became practically empty compared to the bustling streets during the day. A few of the city's inhabitants-some nicer than others-were still out, attending to whatever business they had to do. Two of these were Sonic and Tails, now standing on top of one of the city's many skyscrapers.

"You still haven't told me what your plan is, Sonic." yawned Tails while rubbing his eyes. "Or why we're up on this building in the cold and not at our hotel, sleeping…"

"It's simple, Tails!" smirked Sonic. "We're going to be superheroes!"

"Really?" shouted Tails, his tiredness now apparently gone.

"Yep!" said Sonic proudly. "I figure that if we stop enough crime, help pets down from trees, and all of that, then we'll become instant celebrities! And as celebrities, it'll be a cinch to meet with the council!"

"That's an awesome plan, Sonic!" exclaimed Tails, jumping up and down in excitement. "We're going to be just like the superhero Blockhead Bill and his sidekick, Gentleman Max!"

"Yeah, only waaaaay cooler!" replied Sonic. "Now we just have to wait for a crime to happen and-"

Almost immediately, an alarm suddenly went off somewhere on the same street Sonic was looking down at.

"…Yeah, like that." said Sonic, surprised. "Come on, Tails! That sounds like a crime that needs stopping!"

"All right!" shouted Tails before flying into the air. He then proceeded to pick up Sonic, and quickly flew in the direction the alarm sounded like it was coming from.

* * *

On the same street, Amy was walking down a sidewalk, looking at all of the closed stores sadly.

"This isn't what I imagined the nightlife here to be like!" she sighed. "There has to be _something _to do around here! Otherwise, I might as well head back to-"

Just then, Amy heard the same alarm blaring loudly not too far from where she was standing.

"…Actually, it looks like something exciting _is_ happening!" she grinned. "I have to go see this!"

And with that, Amy ran off in the direction the alarm was coming from.

* * *

The Mobotropolis First National Bank was quite hard to break into. The surprisingly small building's glass windows were reinforced, the front door could only be opened if one were to input the security code needed in a nearby control panel, and the vault door inside was almost completely indestructible.

However, while the bank was hard to break into, it was not impossible.

The front door had merely been punched down, and now the vault door had been ripped right off of its hinges by two very strong men. One of these was a huge, green-skinned creature with shaggy, green and black hair. He wore a gray business suit, and a purple shirt underneath. His left eye was white with a black pupil, while his right one was black with a red pupil. Finally, his bare hands and feet had patches of black fur on them. The creature was named Mr. Fry, and he was one of the strongest known people on Mobius.

The other man was much smaller, and much younger. He was an armadillo with a red shell, yellow skin, and a black, needle-like nose. Unlike Mr. Fry, the armadillo's hands and feet were not bare, as he wore white gloves and red shoes. This was Mighty, and even though he didn't look like it, he was just as strong as Mr. Fry-if not _stronger_.

"Looks like we've hit the big time!" grunted Mr. Fry as he stepped into the vault and looked at all of the containers of money inside. "The boss is going to be one happy camper!"

"Uh… yeah, I'm sure he is…" muttered Mighty as he pulled out a brown sack, and started dumping money inside. Mr. Fry pulled out his own bag, and began to do the same.

"I'm tellin' ya, kid." chuckled Mr. Fry. "With the cuts we're gonna get from this heist, we're going to be filthy stinkin' rich!"

"I don't think you're going have much use for money in jail, pal!" exclaimed a voice from the vault entrance. Mighty and Mr. Fry both quickly turned around to see Sonic and Tails standing broadly in the doorway.

"Who are you two supposed to be?" snorted Mr. Fry. "Some punk kids lookin' for trouble? Skedaddle before I-"

Before Fry could finish, Sonic spin-dashes right into his face. This caused Fry to tumble back slightly, while Sonic landed back on the floor.

"My nose!" shouted Fry in pain while he grasped his nose in pain. "That really hurt, ya little snot!"

"Aww, I'm sorry!" remarked Sonic sarcastically. "Would you prefer it if I made the rest of your body hurt just as bad?"

"RARRGH!" roared Fry before attempting to bring his huge fist down onto Sonic's skull. However, Sonic quickly sped out of the way, causing Fry to just hit the floor and smash a bit of it instead.

"HA!" laughed Sonic. "Even if I was standing still, you'd still mi-"

Mighty suddenly punched Sonic from behind, sending him flying straight into a wall.

"Owww…" groaned Sonic, rubbing his head as he struggled to get back up. "That guy really packs a punch…"

"Good work, Mighty!" chuckled Fry as he cracked his knuckles and approached Sonic. "Time for me to finish-"

"Leave him alone!" shouted Tails as he started to fly in circles around Mr. Fry, smacking him with his tails as he did so.

"Gah!" cried out Fry as he struggled to grab Tails. "Hold still, ya brat!"

"No way!" shouted Tails as he continued flying all around Mr. Fry, still smacking him with his tails as he did so.

"MIGHTY!" shouted Fry while he continued trying to grab the fox. "Help me out here!"

"But I can't hurt a kid!" objected Mighty. "It's just… not right!"

"There's nothing right about hurting me, either!" exclaimed Sonic just before getting back onto his feet and dashing straight into Mighty, ramming him into a wall. "Doesn't feel too good on the receiving end, does it?"

At that moment, Amy suddenly ran into the vault, now brandishing a large, yellow and red hammer.

"All right, criminals, stand down-" began Amy before she noticed the scene in front of her, and just stared. "Um… am I interrupting something?"

"Another one?" yelled Fry in surprise before finally grabbing Tails by both of his tails.

"Hey!" snapped Tails. "Let go of me!"

"With pleasure!" grinned Fry broadly before throwing Tails straight out of the vault, causing him to collide into a desk in the room outside.

"Ugh…" groaned Tails, now completely dazed.

"HEY!" cried out Amy. "I may not know who's who around here, but he was just a kid, you big bully!"

"So what?" asked Fry as he walked straight up to Amy. "You gonna do something' about it, missy?'

"As a matter of fact, I am!" smiled Amy before swinging her hammer upwards and straight into Fry's face, causing him to step backwards and grasp his nose in pain again.

"I just got hit there-" started Fry before Amy swung her hammer right into his stomach, causing him to fall onto his knees. "Gurk…"

"Done yet?" asked Amy mockingly. At the same time, Mighty managed to punch Sonic down to the floor, and then looked over at Amy and the injured Fry.

"Don't worry, Mr. Fry!" cried out Mighty as he dashes towards the two. "I'm coming!"

Amy started to turn around just as Mighty ran up to her, and stopped in his tracks.

"I'm sorry, miss." said Mighty as he began to pull back his fist, "I really don't want to hurt you, but…"

Just as Mighty swung his fist towards Amy-who had little to no time to react-Sonic suddenly spin-dashed into Mighty from behind, knocking him into the air. Sonic then rolled out of the ball, grabbed Amy, and dashed out of the vault and into the room before it. Here, he set Amy down on the floor.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Uh… yeah." mumbled Amy, staring at Sonic. "… Thanks."

"No prob!" replied Sonic cheerfully. "Now I have a beat-down to get back to!"

As Sonic rushed back towards the vault-not noticing that Amy was now blushing- Mighty started to help Mr. Fry back up.

"I think we should get out of here." suggested Mighty. "We can always get money from somewhere else…"

"But-" started Mr. Fry before noticing Sonic coming back towards the vault. "… Bah, fine! Speckle's serum is almost up, anyway…"

Mighty nodded without saying a word and then punched a nearby wall, sending it crashing down and creating a way leading outside. He and Fry then quickly ran out just as Sonic got back into the vault.

"Great, they got away." he muttered before noticing the brown sacks lying on the floor. "At least they forgot their money. I'd go after them, but first things first!"

Sonic then ran back into the previous room, where Amy was now helping Tails get back up.

"Sorry I didn't make sure you were okay earlier, buddy, but I really wanted to bring those two in." explained Sonic. "You're okay though, right?"

"Yeah…" sighed Tails. "Just failed at something again, that's all…"

Before Sonic could respond, police sirens started blaring outside.

"Hey, it's the police!" observed Amy.

"About time they got here!" complained Sonic. "Seriously, Mobotropolis probably has the slowest cops ever! Well, at least they'll offer us praise for stopping anything from being stolen."

Just then, several police officers-all wearing the standard blue uniforms-barged into the room and started running towards Sonic, Tails, and Amy.

"Hello, officers!" greeted Sonic. "As you can see, everything's been handled here by I, Sonic the Hedgehog, and my partner, Tails! So if you'd just let us be on our way and spread the word of our heroic deeds here-"

One of the officers-without saying a word-just grabbed both of Sonic's wrists and handcuffed him.

"… Or you could do that."


End file.
